Wednesday 10 May

First Word

Keynote by Lionel Fogarty

3:30pm (for a 4pm start) to 5pm, Wednesday 10 May, slq Queensland Terrace

First Word formally opens the Brisbane Writers Festival each year. To celebrate the vibrant tradition of Australia’s first storytellers, the session showcases a keynote speech by an eminent First Nations writer. In 2023, that writer is leading Indigenous poet and political activist Lionel Fogarty. Born on an Aboriginal reserve on Wakka Wakka land, Fogarty has been at the forefront of the fight for Indigenous rights since he was a teenager. Today, with fourteen published poetry collections and a career of writing and activism spanning more than forty years, Fogarty’s revolutionary spirit and rousing words are as strong and salient as ever. In addition to the First Nations keynote and as part of the First Word formalities, the audience will also hear from select festival figures and politicians; from representatives of BWF’s 2023 Country of Focus, South Korea; and from author Trent Jamieson, who will give a short reading from his piece in the BWF book Celebrating 60 Years of the Brisbane Writers Festival

Supported by University of Queensland

Anita Jacoby on Secrets Beyond the Screen

In conversation with Kay McGrath

6–7pm, Wednesday 10 May, slq Auditorium 1

Veteran television producer Anita Jacoby turns a documentarian lens on her family history, unravelling a family secret and shining a revealing light on the social mores of 1950s Australia. An intensely personal account of a migrant family as well as an investigation of marital life prior to no-fault divorce, Secrets Beyond the Screen is as culturally illuminating as it is psychologically astute. For this discussion, she’s joined by a fellow television veteran, Kay McGrath.

Best Dressed

Not since Meryl Streep’s cerulean sermon in The Devil Wears Prada has clothing been so insightfully unstitched. These sartorial trailblazers consider the meaning behind our wardrobes: how we define ourselves and relate to others through fashion.

Irvine Welsh on The Long Knives

In conversation with Mirandi Riwoe

Nat’s What I Reckon on What Nat to Do

In conversation with Christian Hull

Panellists: Gregory Ladner (A Boy and His Bear), Deni Todorovič (Love This for You)

Moderator: Carody Culver (Griffith Review)

6–7pm, Wednesday 10 May, slq Auditorium 2

Irvine Welsh

6–7pm, Wednesday 10 May, slq The Edge Auditorium

No one writes a crime novel quite like Irvine Welsh, and no one solves a mystery like Detective Ray Lennox. The latest instalment in one of the darkest, most original detective series ever written, The Long Knives revels in Welsh’s punkish penchant for blending satirical social commentary with body horror, a psychedelic odyssey into the bowels of Edinburgh’s criminal underworld.

Lionel Fogarty on Harvest Lingo

In conversation with Samuel Watson

6–7pm, Wednesday 10 May, slq Talking Circle

Poet, activist and Australian luminary Lionel Fogarty discusses his latest collection, Harvest Lingo. Baptising the reader in a universal stream of consciousness, Harvest Lingo is a glowing meditation on language and belonging.

The Marion Taylor Opening Night Gala Keynote speech by Shehan

Karunatilaka

7–10pm, Wednesday 10 May, QAGOMA Water Mall

Join us for an elegant affair in the Queensland Art Gallery’s exquisite Water Mall, where you will be wined, dined and illumined by our keynote speaker, Booker Prize winner Shehan Karunatilaka. Reflecting on his stratospheric year and the possibilities of literature in a globalised world, Shehan calls on us to celebrate the sublime and the strange – the perfect note on which to begin this year’s Brisbane Writers Festival.

This event is only possible through the support of the Taylor family

Nat

7:30–8:30pm, Wednesday 10 May, slq Auditorium 1 YouTube sensation Nat is here to give unsolicited advice with his trademark humour, irreverence and insight. The mental health advocate and stand-up comedian takes a ratbag approach to looking on the bright side and getting real about life’s challenges – because sometimes if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry.

Supported by QBD Books

Nuclear Fallout

Panellists: Ian Lowe (The Nuclear Industry in Australia), Elizabeth Tynan (The Secret of Emu Field), Shastra Deo (The Exclusion Zone)

Moderator: Ashley Hay

7:30–8:30pm, Wednesday 10 May, slq The Studio

Atomic habits die hard, and with the evolution of climate discourse, nuclear energy has become more contentious than ever. This panel considers the economic, scientific and social realities of Australia’s nuclear industry, how lessons from the past might shape the uncertain future, and the consequences of playing god.

Regurgitator’s Unit

Panellists: Paul Curtis (manager), Ben Ely (band member), Lachlan Goold (recording engineer and author), Lauren Istvandity (author). Moderator: Ian Powne

Regurgitator

7:30–8:30pm, Wednesday 10 May, slq The Edge Auditorium

Join us for a dirty pop fantasy wherein a manager, a band member, a producer and an author walk into a bar to discuss the iconic Brisbane band Regurgitator. Reflecting on the legacy of these lo-fi luminaries, this thirtieth anniversary celebration dissects the craft of great songwriting and the triumphs of a band ahead of their time.

Supported by 4ZZZ